Delco 8-track with Modern Amp + Speakers? *

jroach · Mar 10, 2014

i already have a pac line level converter, i have two actually. one adjustable and one not. does it matter which i use? the delco 8 track does not have any leads that could be used as a amp turn-on?
as of right now, im just using my mp3 with a 1/8 to rca adapter. its kind of a pita, i would much rather have a regular head unit (my delco)

RS1979 · Mar 11, 2014

If you need any 8 track tapes let me know what type of music you like. My step-father runs a secondhand store and has hundreds of them. He'd probably give them to me just to make room. Let me know.

JordanZ28 · Dec 26, 2017

Bikefixr said: ↑

Your audio guy is clueless.GM hasn't used a common speaker ground since the 60's. And even if they did, so what? You will be rewiring modern equipment and speaker in, and normal grounding now applies. I have done EXACTLY what you want to do and mine works great.

The factory radio speaker outputs can't be wired into a modern amp directly. The impedence (resistance) is to high. No big deal...we are using a small converter to take your high impedence output and converting it into a modern low impedance output.

I used a PAC adjustable line output converter. It takes your speaker outputs (pos and negative) and drops the voltage to a manageable level and impedance. Then you connect to an amp with standard RCA cables. Connect amp to any 4ohm speaker you want.

The Delco 8-track is much better than people give it credit for. The FM section is very good, and the tape section is also very good. 8-tracks got a bad reputation mostly because people don't take care of them. You can make tapes that outperform a cassette. I record my own and you would be amazed at how nice they sound. Barry's 8-track repair in AZ tweaked my DELCO player and my Marantz home recorder. He can also add line-inputs to your DELCO. The other option is this: PAC also makes a line-level switch. So if you want to play your I-pod through your factory system..skip all those crappy FM modulators. The switching adapter has 2 inputs and 1 output. When it senses a signal..it switches that into the amp. I use one of these to switch between my in-dash DELCO Am/FM and my console mounted DELCO 8-trackplayer. Seamless and sounds great. The PAC adapters are between $25 and $35 depending on what you need it to do.

Go to Ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-SOEM-4-...546?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20e0e18cfa

This is a $22 widget that connects your factory radio/8track to any aftermarket amp you want, 2 or 4 channels. It turns the amp on and off with a current sensing wire.

Now get one of these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/360395799066?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

You need an I-pod to RCA cable. Connect cable to I-pod, the RCA's to the widget above. This allows you to boost the output of the I-pod high enough to drive the amplifier. Volume up/down via I-pod built-in controls. This widget goes into a signal-sensing line-level switchbox. I use a PIE SW-2. When the I-pod is on..the box sends the signal to the amp. When you turn the radio head unit on it turns the I-pod off and send the radio signal to the amp.

Sounds complicated..it isn't. It's just a matter of dropping the signal from the radio, boosting the signal from the I-pod , then switching from one to the other and sending it to the amp. I wired mine up an a couple hours. Love it. Looks totally stock, but I have the in-dash DELCO, underdash 8-track, and a hidden Xune...driving a sweet ADS 2 channel amp into an Infinity 6x9 coax in the rear package shelf and an Infinity 4x10 coax in the factory dash location.
Click to expand...

Hi there
Can I connect my original radio to new speakers or I need I line converter(I don't won't to install amp).

JordanZ28 · Jan 11, 2018

Bikefixr said: ↑

Your audio guy is clueless.GM hasn't used a common speaker ground since the 60's. And even if they did, so what? You will be rewiring modern equipment and speaker in, and normal grounding now applies. I have done EXACTLY what you want to do and mine works great.

The factory radio speaker outputs can't be wired into a modern amp directly. The impedence (resistance) is to high. No big deal...we are using a small converter to take your high impedence output and converting it into a modern low impedance output.

I used a PAC adjustable line output converter. It takes your speaker outputs (pos and negative) and drops the voltage to a manageable level and impedance. Then you connect to an amp with standard RCA cables. Connect amp to any 4ohm speaker you want.

The Delco 8-track is much better than people give it credit for. The FM section is very good, and the tape section is also very good. 8-tracks got a bad reputation mostly because people don't take care of them. You can make tapes that outperform a cassette. I record my own and you would be amazed at how nice they sound. Barry's 8-track repair in AZ tweaked my DELCO player and my Marantz home recorder. He can also add line-inputs to your DELCO. The other option is this: PAC also makes a line-level switch. So if you want to play your I-pod through your factory system..skip all those crappy FM modulators. The switching adapter has 2 inputs and 1 output. When it senses a signal..it switches that into the amp. I use one of these to switch between my in-dash DELCO Am/FM and my console mounted DELCO 8-trackplayer. Seamless and sounds great. The PAC adapters are between $25 and $35 depending on what you need it to do.

Go to Ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-SOEM-4-...546?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20e0e18cfa

This is a $22 widget that connects your factory radio/8track to any aftermarket amp you want, 2 or 4 channels. It turns the amp on and off with a current sensing wire.

Now get one of these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/360395799066?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

You need an I-pod to RCA cable. Connect cable to I-pod, the RCA's to the widget above. This allows you to boost the output of the I-pod high enough to drive the amplifier. Volume up/down via I-pod built-in controls. This widget goes into a signal-sensing line-level switchbox. I use a PIE SW-2. When the I-pod is on..the box sends the signal to the amp. When you turn the radio head unit on it turns the I-pod off and send the radio signal to the amp.

Sounds complicated..it isn't. It's just a matter of dropping the signal from the radio, boosting the signal from the I-pod , then switching from one to the other and sending it to the amp. I wired mine up an a couple hours. Love it. Looks totally stock, but I have the in-dash DELCO, underdash 8-track, and a hidden Xune...driving a sweet ADS 2 channel amp into an Infinity 6x9 coax in the rear package shelf and an Infinity 4x10 coax in the factory dash location.
Click to expand...

Did you put any reisestors before connecting to the line out converter or just wired the speaker directly to the LOC.
Thanks

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Delco 8-track with Modern Amp + Speakers? *

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